Coronavirus cases in India: A total of 1,01,782 people have lost their lives to COVID-19 till now. (File)
India's COVID-19 tally has crossed the 65-lakh mark with 75,829 new coronavirus cases and 1,069 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry data released this morning shows.
The country now has 65,49,373 total cases of coronavirus, including 9,37,625 active cases and 55,09,766 recoveries. A total of 1,01,782 people have lost their lives to COVID-19 till now.
Meanwhile, India continues to occupy the top global position with the maximum number of COVID-19 recoveries and accounts for 21 per cent of the recovered cases worldwide, while its share in the total cases stands at 18.6 per cent, the Union Health Ministry said. India has also maintained its global position with one of the lowest COVID-19 case fatality rates (CFR) when compared to several other countries.
While the global CFR stands at 2.97 per cent as on date, the comparative figure for India is 1.56 per cent, it said.
Here are the LIVE updates on Coronavirus cases:
Coronavirus News: Delhi's Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple To Reopen On October 13Delhi's iconic Akshardham Temple will reopen for visitors from October 13 after months of being closed due to coronavirus
Those visiting the temple will have to follow strict COVID-19 rules like mandatory use of face masks and undergo thermal screening before entering the premises, the temple management said.
Read Coronavirus Update: Delhi Schools To Remain Shut Till October 31 Amid CoronavirusAll schools in Delhi will remain shut till October 31 because of the coronavirus outbreak, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said Sunday afternoon. The Delhi government had earlier ordered schools in the national capital to close till October 5, but allowed online classes - which have become the norm in recent weeks and months with the need for social distancing - to continue.
"All schools in Delhi will remain closed till October 31 due to Corona. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that as a parent, he understands the seriousness of the situation. At this time it will not be appropriate to take any risk regarding the health of children," Mr Sisodia tweeted.
Read More Delhi Hospital Treats 8,000 Covid Patients - Highest By State-Run FacilityChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today applauded the healthcare workers of Delhi's Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, which has successfully treated a chunk of Covid patients in the country. Around 8,000 patients have been discharged from the hospital after recovering from the infection - the highest from any state-owned hospital.
The hospital was declared a dedicated COVID-19 facility on March 17 and since, 11,415 patients were admitted. As many as 331 women who tested positive for coronavirus have given birth in the hospital - the highest in the country.
Read Coronavirus Impact On Jobs: For Mumbai's Dabbawalas, Normalcy Is Distant Even After UnlockMumbai's dabbawalas will now be allowed to board the city's local trains, according to the government's unlock guidelines. However, these food-delivery personnel's troubles may not have ended yet.
Over the six months since they stopped deliveries in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, their bicycles have rusted, adding to their expenses even as the customer base shrunk.
"I first used to deliver 25-26 tiffin a day. Now the number is about five. Revenue has gone down. And our cycles have also rusted," said Shantaram Gargunde, one such dabbawalla.
Read "Plan To Cover 25 Crore By Next July": Health Minister On Covid VaccineThe government plans to provide Covid vaccines to around 25 crore (250 million) people - of the country's 130 crore (1.3 billion) - by July 2021, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said Sunday afternoon. Dr Vardhan said the government would receive between 400 and 500 million vaccine doses for this purpose and that it would ensure "equitable access".
The Health Minister also said that state and UT governments had been advised to send details of "priority population groups" - a reference to frontline health workers (both government and private-sector employees), who will be first in line to receive the vaccine - by the end of October.
Read Coronavirus News: India And South Africa Ask WTO To Waive Rules For COVID-19 Drugs
India and South Africa want the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waive intellectual property rules to make it easier for developing countries to produce or import COVID-19 drugs, a letter to the WTO shows.
In their letter dated October 2 the two countries called on the global trade body to waive parts of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which governs patents, trademarks, copyright and other intellectual property rules globally.
"As new diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for COVID-19 are developed, there are significant concerns (over) how these will be made available promptly, in sufficient quantities and at (an) affordable price to meet global demand," the letter posted on the Geneva-based WTO's website says.
"Be Back Soon, Next Few Days Real Test": Trump
US President Donald Trump said in a video released on Twitter Saturday night that he was feeling "much better" in his battle against the coronavirus -- but the next few days would be "the real test."
The 74-year-old assured the public of his progress hours after a source with knowledge of the president's condition had warned his vital signs were worrying, with the next 48 hours critical.
"I came here, wasn't feeling so well," said Trump, who is being treated at Walter Reed military medical center near Washington following his Covid-19 diagnosis.
"I feel much better now, we're working hard to get me all the way back."
Mumbai Restaurants To Open From Monday Under Unlock 5
Over 4 lakh restaurants, bars, and hotels in Maharashtra will reopen on Monday after a gap of six months as part of the fifth phase of easing COVID-19 restrictions called Unlock 5. They were shut down, along with most businesses across the country, under the nationwide lockdown in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.
This move, announced by Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on September 28, will bring relief to the state's hospitality industry which approximately generates over Rs18,000 crore in revenues and employs around 2.4 crore people directly and indirectly. This includes the over 1 lakh such businesses in capital Mumbai alone.
Health Minister On Coronavirus Vaccine: "Plan To Cover 25 Crore People By Next July"The government plans to provide Covid vaccines to around 20 to 25 crore (200 to 250 million) people - of the country's 130 crore (1.3 billion) - by July 2021, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said Sunday afternoon. Dr Vardhan said the government would receive between 400 and 500 million vaccine doses for this purpose and that it would ensure "equitable access".
The Health Minister also said that state and UT governments had been advised to send details of "priority population groups" - a reference to which sections of the population will be first in line to recieve the vaccine - by the end of October.
"Vaccine procurement is being done centrally and each consignment will be tracked in real time. Priority will be given to frontline health care workers," Dr Vardhan said in the fourth edition of "Sunday Samvaad", his weekly social media interaction with the public.
"The government is offering full support to Indian vaccine manufacturers and is commited to taking all measures to ensure equitable access to the vaccine," he added.
Researchers Develop New Covid Test Doesn't Use Scarce ReagentsScientists have developed a new method of testing for COVID-19 that doesn't make use of key reagents but still delivers an accurate result, an advance that may lead to an inexpensive diagnosis technique in developing countries where chemical supplies are in short supply.
The method, described in the journal PLOS Biology, omits the step in the widely used reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test where the scarce reagents are needed, but has an accuracy of 92 per cent, missing only the lowest viral loads.
The researchers, including those from the University of Washington in the US, tested the new method using 215 COVID-19 samples that RT-PCR tests had shown were positive, with a range of viral loads, and 30 that were negative.
They said it correctly identified 92 per cent of the positive samples and 100 per cent of the negatives.
While the positive samples the new test failed to catch had very low levels of the virus, the scientists said ultra-sensitive tests that identify individuals with even the smallest viral loads may not be needed to slow the spread of the disease, news agency PTI reported.
COVID-19: Less Than 10 Lakh Active Cases For 13th Consecutive Day In CountryFor the 13th day in an "unbroken string", India has maintained its steady trend of clocking less than 10 lakh active cases of COVID-19, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday.
It also said that an average of 11.5 lakh tests for detection of coronavirus infection were done on a daily basis during the past ten days.
From merely one in January 2020, India's total tests for detection of COVID-19 have crossed 7.89 crore so far. There has been a commensurate dip in the COVID-19 positivity rate, it said.
"With progressively falling positivity rate, testing has worked as a highly effective tool to limit the spread of COVID-19 infection," the ministry highlighted.
There are 9,37,625 active cases of COVID-19 as on date, which is 7,371 cases less than Saturday.
India has posted high daily testing numbers on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with 10,97,947, 11,32,675 and 11,42,131 tests being conducted respectively.
"There has been an exponential rise in India's daily testing capacities. More than 15 lakhs tests can be conducted every day. An average of 11.5 lakh tests were done on a daily basis during the past ten days," the ministry said.
The situation of COVID-19 is better in Assam. The positive rate is less than 3, it is going down. In the next two months, we are hopeful that we will be able to control the situation: Assam minister of state for health Pijush Hazarika
2 Sri Lankan Towns Under Indefinite Curfew After New Covid Case DetectionSri Lanka on Sunday imposed an indefinite curfew on two western provincial towns to contain the spread of the coronavirus following the detection of a community case after a gap of nearly six months, officials said.
The island nation has so far recorded 3,395 coronavirus cases and 13 fatalities due to the disease.
An indefinite curfew has been imposed on Divulapitiya and Minwangoda towns in the suburbs of Colombo after a COVID-19 positive patient was detected on Sunday, Army Commander and COVID-19 prevention task force head Shavendra Silva said.
539 Fresh COVID-19 Cases Push Tally To 29,089 In PuducherryThe COVID-19 tally in the union territory of Puducherry rose to 29,089 with the addition of 343 fresh cases while the death count mounted to 539 with five more fatalities, the government said on Sunday.
As many as 419 patients were discharged from hospitals during the last 24 hours ending 10 am on Sunday, taking the cumulative recoveries to 23,763.
There were 4,787 active cases in the union territory, Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao said.
A total of 3,725 samples were tested during the period and so far 2,02,784 specimens had been examined by the health department, he told a virtual press meet.
Odisha reports 3,326 new cases of COVID-19, taking tally to over 2.32 lakh; count crosses 900-mark with 15 more deaths: Official, news agency PTI reported.
Arunachal Pradesh's COVID-19 Tally Rises To 10,421At least 201 more people, including eight security personnel and 17 health care workers, have tested positive for COVID-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, pushing the northeastern state's caseload to 10,421, a senior health official said on Sunday.
Of the 201 fresh cases, 80 were reported from the Capital Complex region, Changlang (16), 14 cases each from West Siang and Tirap, Kamle (11), East Siang (10), Lohit (9) and 8 each from Lower Subansiri and Namsai districts respectively, the official said.
Telangana COVID-19 Tally Inches Closer To 2-Lakh MarkTelangana reported 1,949 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to nearly two lakh, while ten more deaths pushed the count to 1,163, a government bulletin said on Sunday.
The active cases stood at 27,901 and the cumulative recovered cases rose to 1,70,212, it said, providing data as of 8 PM on October 3.
The fresh infections took the total count to 1,99,276 and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for maximum of 291 of the 1,949 cases, followed by Rangareddy (156) and Medchal Malkajgiri (150) districts.
A total of 51,623 samples were tested on October 3.
Cumulatively, 32,05,249 samples have been tested in the state so far, the bulletin said.
The samples tested per million population was 86,116, the bulletin said.
Deputy Director of Narcotics Control Bureau, KPS Malhotra tests positive for COVID-19, news agency ANI reported
Covid-19: 48 Test Positive For Coronavirus In LadakhForty-eight people tested positive for COVID-19 in Ladakh, taking the virus caseload in the Union Territory to 4,477, officials said on Sunday.
With 41 more patients cured of the disease, the total number of active cases in the region stands at 1,101 which included 769 in Leh and 332 in Kargil district, the officials said.
Ladakh had reported 61 COVID-related deaths, while 3,315 patients have recovered till Saturday evening.
Forty new cases were detected in Leh and eight more in Kargil during the past 24 hours, the officials said.
They said 37 patients were discharged after successful treatment in Leh and four others in Kargil on Saturday.
10 New Covid Cases In Andamans; Tally Rises To 3,868The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 3,868 on Sunday as 10 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said.
Eight new patients were detected during contact tracing, while two have travel history, he said.
Eleven more people were cured of the disease, the official said.
The Union territory now has 173 active coronavirus cases, while 3,642 people have been cured of the disease and 53 patients have died due to the infection so far, he said.
The administration had till Saturday sent 61,231 samples for COVID-19 tests, of which 22 reports were awaited, the official added.
India's COVID-19 tally crosses 65-lakh mark with a spike of 75,829 new cases & 940 deaths reported in last 24 hours.
Total case tally stands at 65,49,374 including 9,37,625 active cases, 55,09,967 cured/discharged/migrated cases & 1,01,782 deaths: Union Health Ministry
A total of 7,89,92,534 samples tested for COVID-19 up to October 3. Of these, 11,42,131 samples were tested yesterday: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
Mizoram records 17 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total cases in the state to 2120, including 1772 discharges. Active cases stand at 348: Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Mizoram
Delhi: COVID-19 patients perform yoga organised by Indo-Tibetan Border Police at ITBP-run Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre & Hospital, Radha Soami Satsang Beas in Chhatarpur.
Assam Reports 1,632 New Covid CasesAs many as 1,632 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Assam on Saturday, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
A total of 33,656 tests were conducted in the state yesterday. The total number of cases now stands at 1,85,444 including 1,48,960 discharges, 35,746 active cases and 735 deaths.
India reported 79,476 new cases on Saturday taking the count of people infected with coronavirus to 64,73,545.
The total count includes 9,44,996 active cases and 54,27,707 cured, discharged, or migrated patients.
COVID-19: Madhya Pradesh Reports 1,811 New Cases, 27 DeathsAs many as 1,811 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, according to the State Health Department.
The total number of positive cases in the state stands at 1,33,918 including 19,807 active cases, 1,11,712 recoveries.
With 27 new deaths, the cumulative count of the state reached 2,101.
India reported 79,476 new cases on Saturday taking the count of people infected with coronavirus to 64,73,545.
The total count includes 9,44,996 active cases and 54,27,707 cured, discharged, or migrated patients.
Odisha Reports 3,053 New Covid Cases, 17 Fresh FatalitiesOdisha's COVID-19 tally rose to 2,29,387 on Saturday as 3,053 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said.
Seventeen fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death count to 892, he said.
"Single-day recoveries outnumbered new COVID-19 cases in the state for the sixth consecutive day as 4,066 patients were cured of the disease during the day," the official said.
According to him, 1,98,194 people have recovered from the infection so far.
The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients in the state is at 86.40 per cent.
India has scaled up its testing capacity from one in January to more than 7.7 crore in October. With progressively falling positivity rate, testing has worked as an effective tool to limit the spread of COVID-19 infection: Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
Donald Trump says had "no choice" but to risk Covid exposure
US President Donald Trump said in a video he had "no choice" but to risk exposure to Covid-19 in his role as the US leader.
"I had no choice. Because I just didn't want to stay in the White House," Trump said in a video apparently filmed at Walter Reed military medical center where he is being treated for the coronavirus.
"I had to be out front... I can't be locked up in a room upstairs and totally safe," he said. "As a leader you have to confront problems. There's never been a great leader that would have done that."
Deaths per million population in India among lowest in world: Health Ministry
The deaths per million population in India is one of the lowest in the world. While the global average is 130 deaths per million population, India is reporting 73 deaths per million population, the health ministry said.
"India continues to occupy the top global position as the country with the maximum number of recoveries. It accounts for 21 per cent of the global recovered cases, while its share in the total cases stands at 18.6 per cent," the ministry said.
Oxford Coronavirus Vaccine Could Be Rolled Out Within Six Months: Report
A vaccine against coronavirus, being developed together by scientists at the University of Oxford and pharma giant AstraZeneca, may be cleared by health regulators by the end of this year, according to a UK media report.
The vaccine candidate is the furthest in the process of trials, according to a report in The Times quoting British government sources. "We are looking at closer to six months and it is likely to be far shorter than that," one such source said.